To win the Ashes you almost certainly need a strong opening pair. Most of the Ashes-winning pairings that comes to mind have been either two right-handers or a right and a left. Hobbs and Sutcliffe, Woodfull and Ponsford, Gooch and Robinson were all right-handers. Wessels and Dyson, Broad and Athey, Taylor and Slater were all right-and-left.
Since the final Ashes Test of 2001, Australia’s first-choice opening pair have been two left-handers, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. They have never been in danger of being mistaken for two peas in a pod. Hayden is huge and takes a big stride forward, Langer is little and mainly moves sideways, so bowlers have to change their length every time the two of them take a single, just as they would have to change their line for a right-and-left combination.
In 2004, England joined Australia in lefty heaven, when Andrew Strauss became an instant automatic choice to open with Marcus Trescothick. They too play differently, though in a less marked way. Trescothick is a stand-and-deliver thumper, Strauss a nudger, cutter and puller. So in the 2005 Ashes, both openers on both sides were left-handers. Almost as unusually, the English pair did better, making 824 runs between them at 41, to Hayden and Langer’s 712 at 39 - and doing a lot more in the decisive matches.
Now both teams have gone further still. Australia have brought in Mike Hussey, who has spent most of his career as an opener for Western Australia, at number five. He has done so well that WA may be wondering why they ever asked him to open. The nerveless adaptability that Hussey had shown in one-day internationals has translated seamlessly to Test cricket. He can defend, attack, rebuild or shepherd the tail. England’s main hope with him has to be that sophomore syndrome sets in, as it did with Strauss during the first half of the 2005 Ashes.
England’s own top order now consists of three left-handed openers. Alastair Cook has come in at number three to replace Michael Vaughan, and, in all but place, he is the classic left-handed opener – watchful, well-organised, sometimes crabby, powerful square of the wicket, strong against pace, not so hot against spin. His strike rate is a bit old-school (44), but he makes up for it with an outstanding average (54).
Having three openers worked for Australia under Allan Border in the 1980s, when they split up the successful pairing of Geoff Marsh and David Boon to squeeze Mark Taylor in. And it worked for England under Ray Illingworth in 1970-71, when John Edrich was at number three behind Geoff Boycott and Brian Luckhurst. It’s a form of insurance, which England need at the moment, with Trescothick convalescing at home with his stress-related illness.
David Graveney said this week that he had spoken to Trescothick on the phone and he “sounded upbeat”, which is good, but a month ago Graveney was trying to allay doubts about Trescothick having a deadline for his recovery by saying he lived near him and would be able to meet up. That seems not to have happened. The feeling persists that the England management, for understandable reasons, don’t know quite what they are dealing with here.
Good piece, there's not much to be commented. It will be interesting to see how they play. For Cook, how he handles McGrath and Warne and how he will fare in general in this series. Same for Hussey, how will he play in the biggest series of them all? Will Strauss and Trescothick again let England off to a good start when they bat on day 1? And will Hayden perform better on home turf?
Posted by: Kutch at October 12, 2006 4:28 AM
I am fascinated by the Trescothick conundrum. No one can shed any light on his failure to travel abroad. What are the odds he will make it to Brisbane? What is the back up plan if he is a no show? Obviously Cook will move up, but who would slot in at number 3? Would the England management really want both Cook and Bell exposed in the top 3? There are so many implications if Trescothick remains unfit, so why does the media rarely touch it? So many questions……
Posted by: Adarsh at October 12, 2006 5:37 AM
On present form and mental setup,Alisatir Cook looks better option to partner Strauss at the top.Seeing Tresothick struggle on bouncy tracks during last trip Down Under, it would be wise move to move him at No 4 ,behind Ian Bell.
Having said that, traditionally ,the openers who attack Aussies from bowl one tend to do well against them.Virender Sehwag and Michael Vaughan are ideal example.
Posted by: Don Ilan at October 12, 2006 7:22 AM
It should be noted Australia have a long tradition of placing "newcomers" to the test team - even prospective openers - lower down the order. Langer started his career as a number 3 and only became an opener in the 2001/2 series against NZ. Hussey is no different. He will become the future opener (probably with Jaques) but rather then splitting a top-notch opening pair before its time they both will have played matches before that lower down the order.
Posted by: Henry Money at October 12, 2006 2:36 PM
Intersting point here. Players who opened for their county/state side seem to do better than one woud expect for their country. I suggest that as an opener facing the new ball week in week out you actually have a greater opportunity to hone your skills. Coming in after fifty plus overs as a county five or six is less challenging.
Any young players wanting to make the step up from first class to Test level would be well advised to insist they open if they currently down the order.
Finally, openers are more used to batting under the added pressure of having no or very few runs on the board and facing fresh bowlers. So when they make the step to Tests they are able to handle the pressure more easily.
Posted by: Vishnu at October 13, 2006 4:13 AM
If the England management have any sense Trescothick shouldn't play. He's never played well out here and if he couldn't cope in India, why will he suddenly be ok in Australia? Of course he's upbeat! No one wants to be kicked off an Ashes tour. England have younger replacements who have performed. They should play. Trescothick doesn't have the best record against us anyway. Saying that, I won't mind if he does play one little bit.....
Posted by: Neville at October 13, 2006 12:52 PM
England should open with Strauss and Trescothick. It's a tried and tested combination and you wouldn't want to mess with that. What is important however is at which position will Ian Bell come in. He is the one player who has shown the most improvement since the last ashes and if England are to retain the Ashes, his contribution will be crucial.
Posted by: Evan at October 14, 2006 2:29 AM
The lefty issue has worried me for a munber of years, and although I tent to agree with the left/right combo being the best, I have to concede two things. Regardless of which side of the bat you stand on, if you are the best bat in the country, you should be picked, and secondly, bowlers target far more than wheather you are a lefty of not these days. In fact, bowlers are arguably the most evolved role-players in modern cricket. As batsman have become faster and more aggressive in how they play the game, bowlers now manage thier craft as never before.
Posted by: Steven at October 14, 2006 6:41 AM
One of the reasons that we lost the Ashes was that the English openers performed better (at least when the pressure was on) than the Australian openers. No shortage of talent though, and all four will be recognised as being top shelf one day. Possibly even be discussed in comparisons of both countries best ever opening combinations.
Posted by: M. Pasha at October 14, 2006 11:02 AM
Concerns about Trescothick continue unabated and many people have suggested that he be replaced. They point to his record against Australia (which is poor) and troubled psyche. Let me make a comparison; Inzamam has been involved in a huge controversy, been under immense pressure and banned from playing in the Champions Trophy. He is overweight and on many an occassion gives no evidence of mental activity at all. His record against Australia leaves a lot to be desired as well, but the idea of leaving him out, while his powers seem to be intact is ludicrous. Why? Because his batting is central to Pakistan's continued success. The same goes for Tresco, he is one of the pillars of the English line up and his presence at the top of the order will provide stability to a team already ravaged by injury. Provided he is match fit, he should be England's no.1 choice to partner Strauss. The lefties in this series are:
I personally think that all of them will contribute crucially to their team's effort. A lot of Aussies have dismissed Cook as well as Bell. They talk of Bell's nightmares from last series, and Cook being rather undercooked (pardon the pun) when it comes to facing the canaries. However both players have shown class against quality opposition (yes teams other than Australia qualify) and it would be foolish to discount them. I have a feeling though that Australia's fortunes depend on one man. If McGrath gets back to his best then England are in trouble. On the other hand if he struggles, then England have the talent to dispose of Australia and claim the title of "Arguably the best test team."
Posted by: pat at October 14, 2006 1:11 PM
JL moved to an opener when slater was dropped on the 2001 ashes tour, not against NZ.
Posted by: Andy Wallace at October 15, 2006 3:40 PM
Strauss and Trescothick will again play a vital role in this coming Ashes series as it was because of their excellent partnerships that England's then inexperienced middle order were able to cope with the Australian bowlers. If England lose early wickets they begin to look distinctly average and for this reason alone they should stick with a tried and tested formula in Strauss and Trescothick. I feel that Cook at three has massively strengthened Englands batting and from that point of view England appear to be strong but i do believe that Australia's batsmen will perform considerably better than last time. If England are to win then they will need more consistency from the middle order to compliment the top three. With Bell looking ever better and understanding his game more and more and Pietersen gaining more experience I feel that England have the potential to do just that.
Posted by: Dave Bremner at October 16, 2006 11:51 AM
I think that Strauss and Trescothick as a test match opening pair have a long way to go before they can be compared to Langer and Hayden, or Taylor and Slater or Greenidge and Haynes. Trescothick continues to amaze me in that his technique on the surface looks faulty, but his numbers don't lie. He has a great average. (Although it is significantly lower against Australia, and he has not made a 100 against Australia) Strauss for me has a lot more to do before we can judge him as a batsman - there is no doubt he is making a great start to his career though. He has a great conversion rate of 50's to 100's, but he needs to play more away series before we can judge him properly. He has to make runs in Australia and the subcontinent before we know where he sits.
Posted by: Joel at October 23, 2006 11:12 AM
Justin Langer has been a great servant of Australian cricket but it is time to go, if you look at his last Ashes series he is vulnerable against short pitched bowling. You be this way as an opener. Either bring on Phil Jaques or for a more risky but exciting venture shift Hussey to opener and bat Cosgrove at 5 or 6
Posted by: Starvin Marvin at October 23, 2006 9:53 PM
In my opinion it is more crutial to have two batsmen opening who play differently like Langer and Hayden forcing the bowler to change his lenght, I personaly as a club bowler find it easier to change my line by just altering the start of my run up.
I also find it difficult to understand why people think Trescothic should be picked when he has not played for a period of time, if it were down to me I would not pick him for this reason. There is no substitution for match practice.
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Tim de Lisle is a former editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, Wisden.com and Wisden Cricket Monthly, where he won an Editor of the Year award in 1999. He is now a cricket columnist for The Times and Cricinfo. A former feature writer on The Daily Telegraph and arts editor of The Independent on Sunday, he writes about rock music for The Mail on Sunday and was shortlisted for Critic of the Year in the British Press Awards 2005. He plays cricket in the park with his children, bowling mediocre offbreaks.
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